If your house becomes flooded, you must act quickly. Water damage can erode the foundations of your home and cause horrific, expensive problems. Here is what to do immediately if your house floods.
Flooding damage is difficult to deal with but not impossible. It is a hard thing to watch as your possessions and furnishings become sodden with dirty water. It is important to act quickly, yes, but it is also important to keep yourself safe. If flooding is getting into the property in massive volumes, you need to vacate. This article should explain what to do in the face of a flood to try and protect or save your home.
When your house floods, take immediate action
If you suffer from water damage in Cambria, or elsewhere for that matter, you should immediately follow this advice.
Think Safe
First, is it safe to stay on the property? In times of severe flooding, the local authorities will offer clear guidance on what you should do. If they think the weather front is going to be significant, they may well advise that you move inland or away from the danger. In this case, secure your house and put any flood measures you have in place. Ensure you switch off the electricity at the mains and vacate the premises as instructed. A house is replaceable; you are not. Get your family – and your animals – water damage.
Think Dry
If the flooding is mild enough that no warning to leave the area occurs, then you can take measures to protect your property. Keeping the water out is the priority, again, ensuring that your electricity is off. Sandbags can help prevent water from coming inside the property, and modern flood barriers can lock in place to divert the flow of water.
You should not remain in a house which is flooding if you have the option to leave. If the flooding seems mild, it could get instantly worse at any point. In this case, you may become trapped inside the property.
Think Remediation
If you are removed by local authorities, or in the event of severe flooding, you should not return to your home until at least 24 hours after the all-clear issues. This gives the water time to recede. After the water recedes, you can truly see what the damage is. The next step in recovering from the damage is to remove all the wet, damaged, and broken objects and debris from inside the house. Let it dry off outside. Removing flood-damaged items from the path of destruction constitutes remediation.
Think Repair
Only when you are in the property and have seen the damage can you begin to plan a repair. First, the whole property must dry out. Afterward, an expert eye should evaluate the damage in terms of building work and mold and mildew. If the house is structurally sound, a water damage restoration company can then repair the damage. If the property is not structurally sound, this repair must happen first.
